Forbidden Heart of the Rainbow
September 15-21
How to Avoid Being Tired, Sore and Grumpy
part 1: Equipment
WEATHER
The probability of idyllic hiking weather is high. Daytime temperatures in the 70s and 80s are likely, and in the low 90s are possible. Afternoon weather is likely to be warm, even hot (and if temperature were the only issue, I might have scheduled the trip a couple weeks later in the year, but day length is also a factor). On most days, we can always cool down if we wish by sitting, lying or swimming in Aztec Creek. Expect night-time low temperatures in the 50s, or possibly upper 40s.
Dry weather is likely but not guaranteed and about half of the Rainbow Plateau trips have had some rain. Most often, rain is brief, intermittent, and inconsequential. But not always. Very consequential thunderstorms with high wind, cold down-drafts, torrential rain and perhaps even hail and flooding have occurred in September. Several years ago, on a solo trip in Forbidding canyon in September, I was fortunate to miss just such a storm by one day. And at least twice that I recall, we have experienced unexpected storms at night. A severe thunderstorm during the day could force us to stop hiking and seek shelter, and might delay our progress down the canyon as much as an entire day. A good quality tent and raingear are essential.
SAND
Sand is everywhere. It is fine grained sand that easily becomes airborne. You will have sand in your shoes, your hair, ears, food, tent, sleeping bag, and everything else. Make peace with it for it is unavoidable. Navajo sand is different from beach sand and it behaves in ways you won’t expect. Because the sand grains are so small, they apparently have electrostatic properties that allow them to cling to synthetic fabrics. A heavy washing at home is necessary to remove all sand from clothes. Items like tents, especially Sil-Nylon fabrics, seemingly never shed this sand.
Most of the area we will visit is open, high and nearly treeless. Sustained high wind with blowing sand is common, even in the canyons. We plan to be in exposed terrain for all or part of three days. High winds are usually little more than a mild annoyance but they can sometimes be a considerable problem, especially for contact lenses, for tents that have a lot of mosquito netting, and for cameras. Sandstorms with greatly reduced visibility are possible but not expected. Perhaps one trip in every two has a day or two of high wind, and one in 10 might experience a sand storm.
Forbidding canyon is likely to have minor quicksand. It is mostly just annoying, not dangerous. Occasionally it may require a little effort to extricate yourself and Forbidding canyon once surprised me with quicksand above my knees. A potential problem is losing footwear, particularly sandals, or, more seriously, the sole of your shoe, when pulling out of quicksand -- it has happened several times on West canyon trips, never in Forbidding, but it could.
EQUIPMENT LIST
Weight
To avoid being tired, sore and grumpy, the single most important factor is minimizing the weight of your loaded backpack. I cannot over-emphasize this. An excessively heavy backpack puts an unnecessary load on every part of your anatomy -- shoulders, back, hips, knees, ankles, and the skin on the bottom of your feet (think blisters!). A heavy backpack requires more muscle strength and endurance to carry both going up and going down (and expect lots of both). A heavy backpack raises your center of gravity, creates instability, changes your sense of balance, and increases the likelihood of injuries. I preach about backpack weight every year, and almost every year, someone shows up in Page with a 50 pound pack. Don't do it. Unless you are a big, strapping, 20-something and used to carrying big backpacks every day, a heavy backpack guarentees you will feel tired, sore and grumpy, or worse, and perhaps much worse.
The goal is 20 pounds, including everything except water. 15 is better, and quite possible. 20 to 25 pounds is ok; more than 25 is not ok. I will have a scale in Page.
Your share of the group equipment and food will weigh 12-15 pounds at the beginning of the trip. The group stuff includes about 8-10 pounds of food per person, cooking and kitchen equipment, satellite phone, first aid kit, and rappelling gear.
Essential Equipment
Backpack. I use a Golite Pinnacle, weight about 1.8 pounds. I also recommend the Gossamer Gear Mariposa backpack (http://gossamergear.com). Both are relatively fragile and maximum capacity for both is about 35 pounds. Packs in the 3-4.5 pound range are also ok, but avoid anything heavier than 4.5 pounds. Your backpack should have at least 4500 cubic inch capacity, and your personal gear should occupy at most 2/3 of that. Your share of the group commissary will be roughly the size of an average pillow case half full.
Sleeping bag. There is no reason not to have a down bag in the desert. 40 degree rating is ok for this trip. I will have a Marmot Hydrogen bag, weight about 1.5 pounds.
Foam pad. I use a full length Thermorest NeoAir, weight about 1 pound. A closed cell pad is also ok. If you bring an inflatable pad, you MUST bring a patch kit (cactus spines are a major problem for inflatables.)
Tent or bivy sack. I use a Black Diamond 2-person HiLight tent, with carbon poles. Weight is about 3 pounds. Either single or double wall tents are ok, but single wall is preferred because sand will blow through mosquito netting as easily as if it were not there at all. (If we have serious wind at night, a double wall tent could fill with several gallons of sand!). Bring large wide tent stakes suitable for sand. Thin wire stakes are useless. Treat tent zippers with a dry spray lubricant to avoid sand damage to sliders (I have had to replace sliders twice). Do not use any product containing oil or wax on zippers. It will bind sand in the zipper, and destroy it. A protective sheet under your tent is optional -- I never use one. Self-standing tents are strongly preferred. Most of our campsites are on soft sand but we may camp one night on rock. Tarps are not ok -- they are impossible to set in soft sand and high wind.
Dry sacks. Mid-weight dry sacks sufficient for all your personal equipment are required. We are in deep water only briefly, but long enough that everything in your pack will be soaked unless in a dry sack. Plastic bags and the very light-weight syl-nylon dry sacks are not ok. They always leak and sometimes leak quite dramatically. Unless your dry sacks are new, check them for holes. I will have dry sacks for the commissary.
Clothing. I bring one change of underwear, 2 pair of wool socks, 1 pair of neoprene socks (optional; we will walk in water and your feet will get wet), lightweight fleece top and bottom, and maybe a cotton T shirt. That is all. If cold weather is predicted, I might also bring a down sweater and ski cap, but that is unlikely for this trip. I usually wear synthetic cargo shorts, and a long-sleeve cotton or synthetic shirt.
Rain gear. I bring Golite gore-tex top and bottom. Weight about 1 pound. Avoid heavy rain parkas.
Wide brim hat. The sun is very bright. Bring a hat. Should have a chin strap so you won't lose it in wind.
Water container. I bring a 3-liter MSR bladder with a bite valve. In addition to personal water container, participants should also bring a 1 gallon jug such as a milk jug, juice jug, or bleach jug for commissary use. Detergent and antifreeze jugs are not ok.
Flashlight. Bring a lightweight halogen or LED headlamp. I don't intend to hike after dark, but dinner or dinner clean-up after dark is quite possible.
Whistle. Bring one.
Bowl and spoon. A wide bowl with at least two cups capacity is required. A cup is ok for drinks, but not ok for food -- does not hold enough, and most cups are too narrow for food use. Don't forget a spoon.
Eyeglasses/contacts. Bring spare. Bring two spare if you do not see well enough to walk without. Eyeglass keeper strap is essential for wind. Sand can be a problem for contact lenses. I have no experience with contact lenses; some people have used them successfully.
Toilet paper. Half a roll is plenty for most people. Another commonly forgotten item.
First aid kit. Bring a small personal first aid kit. It should contain small bandages, blister products such as moleskin, and personal meds, especially ibuprofen or naproxen. I will have a large Sierra Club first aid kit for more significant problems.
Water filter. Not recommended. Bring only if you want it sufficiently to justify the weight. We will mostly use water from Aztec creek, either boiled or treated with chlorine tablets. I will provide chlorine tablets for those that want them. I find they do not adversely affect the taste of the water (iodine tablets do, however). There are livestock in upper Aztec creek; the water is not safe without purification.
Hiking poles. Optional. I don't use them but many people do. Gossamer Gear may have the lightest and best.
Foot Wear
Hiking shoes. Shoes truly adequate for all of the kinds of terrain we will encounter --sand, water, steep rock, boulders, cobbles, and steep scree-- do not exist. I know experienced southwest hikers who rely on heavy, full leather mountain boots and others who only use sandals. IMHO, mountain boots are heavy and uncomfortable and not necessary unless you have unusual foot pathology. But use whatever works for you. I use Keen Arroyo II water shoes. They are very lightweight, super comfortable for me (never had even one blister), and ready to wear right out of the store. Being low cut, they provide zero ankle support, however. They have no resistance to sand or water, but they dry quickly. My issue with Keen shoes is that the quality control is poor and I have known Keen's to lose their soles on their first trip.
The desert is hard on shoes. Whatever shoes you bring, inspect them carefully, particularly the glue joints, even if they are brand new. If a glue joint is not 100% tight, sand will wedge itself into the joint, packing in further with every step and slowly forcing the joint further apart until the shoe fails completely. I have seen it happen several times. Do not buy shoes unless the glue joints are 100% perfect and tight.
Gore-Tex boots with a fabric upper have been a repeated problem. What happens is the sand gets through the mesh upper, compacts, and then wedges the outer layer away from the liner. This causes bulges as much as 1/4 inch thick inside the shoe. The shoe can become unwearable within a few days, and there is no way repair the damage. The shoe is destroyed. I have seen this happen perhaps 6 times. It might not a problem for Gore-Tex boots with full leather uppers, although I am not certain of this.
Gaiters. Lightweight low gaiters can be useful for keeping out sand, especially with low cut shoes. Participants on other trips have used and seem satisfied with these: http://www.dirtygirlgaiters.com
Back-up footwear. Back-up footwear, such as sandals or running shoes that will allow you to finish the trip if your primary shoes fail, is required. On average, one person every trip has a problem with their primary footwear that makes the footwear un-wearable or almost so.
Stuff Not To Bring
Pets.
Firearms.
Recreational drugs.
Alcoholic beverage. Possession of alcohol is illegal on the Navajo Nation. Compliance with Navajo laws demonstrates our respect for their culture and our appreciation of their generosity in allowing us to visit their land.
Radios or boomboxes. Do not bring sound equipment that would be audible to other participants. For safety reasons, do not use sound equipment while hiking. An ipod and earbuds are ok in the tent at night.
Climbing equipment. Technical climbing is not part of this trip. I will bring everything we need for the rappel. Decorative carabiners on the back of your pack that you don't need and will never use only add unnecessary weight.
Stoves, pots and food. Food and cooking equipment are part of the group commissary. We will have enough of both.
GPS, Compass, Maps. You won't need these, so save the weight. Route finding is not difficult for most of this trip, and where it is difficult, the GPS won't help anyway.
Cell phone. Again, save the weight. It won't work for much of the trip anyway.
September 15-21
How to Avoid Being Tired, Sore and Grumpy
part 1: Equipment
WEATHER
The probability of idyllic hiking weather is high. Daytime temperatures in the 70s and 80s are likely, and in the low 90s are possible. Afternoon weather is likely to be warm, even hot (and if temperature were the only issue, I might have scheduled the trip a couple weeks later in the year, but day length is also a factor). On most days, we can always cool down if we wish by sitting, lying or swimming in Aztec Creek. Expect night-time low temperatures in the 50s, or possibly upper 40s.
Dry weather is likely but not guaranteed and about half of the Rainbow Plateau trips have had some rain. Most often, rain is brief, intermittent, and inconsequential. But not always. Very consequential thunderstorms with high wind, cold down-drafts, torrential rain and perhaps even hail and flooding have occurred in September. Several years ago, on a solo trip in Forbidding canyon in September, I was fortunate to miss just such a storm by one day. And at least twice that I recall, we have experienced unexpected storms at night. A severe thunderstorm during the day could force us to stop hiking and seek shelter, and might delay our progress down the canyon as much as an entire day. A good quality tent and raingear are essential.
SAND
Sand is everywhere. It is fine grained sand that easily becomes airborne. You will have sand in your shoes, your hair, ears, food, tent, sleeping bag, and everything else. Make peace with it for it is unavoidable. Navajo sand is different from beach sand and it behaves in ways you won’t expect. Because the sand grains are so small, they apparently have electrostatic properties that allow them to cling to synthetic fabrics. A heavy washing at home is necessary to remove all sand from clothes. Items like tents, especially Sil-Nylon fabrics, seemingly never shed this sand.
Most of the area we will visit is open, high and nearly treeless. Sustained high wind with blowing sand is common, even in the canyons. We plan to be in exposed terrain for all or part of three days. High winds are usually little more than a mild annoyance but they can sometimes be a considerable problem, especially for contact lenses, for tents that have a lot of mosquito netting, and for cameras. Sandstorms with greatly reduced visibility are possible but not expected. Perhaps one trip in every two has a day or two of high wind, and one in 10 might experience a sand storm.
Forbidding canyon is likely to have minor quicksand. It is mostly just annoying, not dangerous. Occasionally it may require a little effort to extricate yourself and Forbidding canyon once surprised me with quicksand above my knees. A potential problem is losing footwear, particularly sandals, or, more seriously, the sole of your shoe, when pulling out of quicksand -- it has happened several times on West canyon trips, never in Forbidding, but it could.
EQUIPMENT LIST
Weight
To avoid being tired, sore and grumpy, the single most important factor is minimizing the weight of your loaded backpack. I cannot over-emphasize this. An excessively heavy backpack puts an unnecessary load on every part of your anatomy -- shoulders, back, hips, knees, ankles, and the skin on the bottom of your feet (think blisters!). A heavy backpack requires more muscle strength and endurance to carry both going up and going down (and expect lots of both). A heavy backpack raises your center of gravity, creates instability, changes your sense of balance, and increases the likelihood of injuries. I preach about backpack weight every year, and almost every year, someone shows up in Page with a 50 pound pack. Don't do it. Unless you are a big, strapping, 20-something and used to carrying big backpacks every day, a heavy backpack guarentees you will feel tired, sore and grumpy, or worse, and perhaps much worse.
The goal is 20 pounds, including everything except water. 15 is better, and quite possible. 20 to 25 pounds is ok; more than 25 is not ok. I will have a scale in Page.
Your share of the group equipment and food will weigh 12-15 pounds at the beginning of the trip. The group stuff includes about 8-10 pounds of food per person, cooking and kitchen equipment, satellite phone, first aid kit, and rappelling gear.
Essential Equipment
Backpack. I use a Golite Pinnacle, weight about 1.8 pounds. I also recommend the Gossamer Gear Mariposa backpack (http://gossamergear.com). Both are relatively fragile and maximum capacity for both is about 35 pounds. Packs in the 3-4.5 pound range are also ok, but avoid anything heavier than 4.5 pounds. Your backpack should have at least 4500 cubic inch capacity, and your personal gear should occupy at most 2/3 of that. Your share of the group commissary will be roughly the size of an average pillow case half full.
Sleeping bag. There is no reason not to have a down bag in the desert. 40 degree rating is ok for this trip. I will have a Marmot Hydrogen bag, weight about 1.5 pounds.
Foam pad. I use a full length Thermorest NeoAir, weight about 1 pound. A closed cell pad is also ok. If you bring an inflatable pad, you MUST bring a patch kit (cactus spines are a major problem for inflatables.)
Tent or bivy sack. I use a Black Diamond 2-person HiLight tent, with carbon poles. Weight is about 3 pounds. Either single or double wall tents are ok, but single wall is preferred because sand will blow through mosquito netting as easily as if it were not there at all. (If we have serious wind at night, a double wall tent could fill with several gallons of sand!). Bring large wide tent stakes suitable for sand. Thin wire stakes are useless. Treat tent zippers with a dry spray lubricant to avoid sand damage to sliders (I have had to replace sliders twice). Do not use any product containing oil or wax on zippers. It will bind sand in the zipper, and destroy it. A protective sheet under your tent is optional -- I never use one. Self-standing tents are strongly preferred. Most of our campsites are on soft sand but we may camp one night on rock. Tarps are not ok -- they are impossible to set in soft sand and high wind.
Dry sacks. Mid-weight dry sacks sufficient for all your personal equipment are required. We are in deep water only briefly, but long enough that everything in your pack will be soaked unless in a dry sack. Plastic bags and the very light-weight syl-nylon dry sacks are not ok. They always leak and sometimes leak quite dramatically. Unless your dry sacks are new, check them for holes. I will have dry sacks for the commissary.
Clothing. I bring one change of underwear, 2 pair of wool socks, 1 pair of neoprene socks (optional; we will walk in water and your feet will get wet), lightweight fleece top and bottom, and maybe a cotton T shirt. That is all. If cold weather is predicted, I might also bring a down sweater and ski cap, but that is unlikely for this trip. I usually wear synthetic cargo shorts, and a long-sleeve cotton or synthetic shirt.
Rain gear. I bring Golite gore-tex top and bottom. Weight about 1 pound. Avoid heavy rain parkas.
Wide brim hat. The sun is very bright. Bring a hat. Should have a chin strap so you won't lose it in wind.
Water container. I bring a 3-liter MSR bladder with a bite valve. In addition to personal water container, participants should also bring a 1 gallon jug such as a milk jug, juice jug, or bleach jug for commissary use. Detergent and antifreeze jugs are not ok.
Flashlight. Bring a lightweight halogen or LED headlamp. I don't intend to hike after dark, but dinner or dinner clean-up after dark is quite possible.
Whistle. Bring one.
Bowl and spoon. A wide bowl with at least two cups capacity is required. A cup is ok for drinks, but not ok for food -- does not hold enough, and most cups are too narrow for food use. Don't forget a spoon.
Eyeglasses/contacts. Bring spare. Bring two spare if you do not see well enough to walk without. Eyeglass keeper strap is essential for wind. Sand can be a problem for contact lenses. I have no experience with contact lenses; some people have used them successfully.
Toilet paper. Half a roll is plenty for most people. Another commonly forgotten item.
First aid kit. Bring a small personal first aid kit. It should contain small bandages, blister products such as moleskin, and personal meds, especially ibuprofen or naproxen. I will have a large Sierra Club first aid kit for more significant problems.
Water filter. Not recommended. Bring only if you want it sufficiently to justify the weight. We will mostly use water from Aztec creek, either boiled or treated with chlorine tablets. I will provide chlorine tablets for those that want them. I find they do not adversely affect the taste of the water (iodine tablets do, however). There are livestock in upper Aztec creek; the water is not safe without purification.
Hiking poles. Optional. I don't use them but many people do. Gossamer Gear may have the lightest and best.
Foot Wear
Hiking shoes. Shoes truly adequate for all of the kinds of terrain we will encounter --sand, water, steep rock, boulders, cobbles, and steep scree-- do not exist. I know experienced southwest hikers who rely on heavy, full leather mountain boots and others who only use sandals. IMHO, mountain boots are heavy and uncomfortable and not necessary unless you have unusual foot pathology. But use whatever works for you. I use Keen Arroyo II water shoes. They are very lightweight, super comfortable for me (never had even one blister), and ready to wear right out of the store. Being low cut, they provide zero ankle support, however. They have no resistance to sand or water, but they dry quickly. My issue with Keen shoes is that the quality control is poor and I have known Keen's to lose their soles on their first trip.
The desert is hard on shoes. Whatever shoes you bring, inspect them carefully, particularly the glue joints, even if they are brand new. If a glue joint is not 100% tight, sand will wedge itself into the joint, packing in further with every step and slowly forcing the joint further apart until the shoe fails completely. I have seen it happen several times. Do not buy shoes unless the glue joints are 100% perfect and tight.
Gore-Tex boots with a fabric upper have been a repeated problem. What happens is the sand gets through the mesh upper, compacts, and then wedges the outer layer away from the liner. This causes bulges as much as 1/4 inch thick inside the shoe. The shoe can become unwearable within a few days, and there is no way repair the damage. The shoe is destroyed. I have seen this happen perhaps 6 times. It might not a problem for Gore-Tex boots with full leather uppers, although I am not certain of this.
Gaiters. Lightweight low gaiters can be useful for keeping out sand, especially with low cut shoes. Participants on other trips have used and seem satisfied with these: http://www.dirtygirlgaiters.com
Back-up footwear. Back-up footwear, such as sandals or running shoes that will allow you to finish the trip if your primary shoes fail, is required. On average, one person every trip has a problem with their primary footwear that makes the footwear un-wearable or almost so.
Stuff Not To Bring
Pets.
Firearms.
Recreational drugs.
Alcoholic beverage. Possession of alcohol is illegal on the Navajo Nation. Compliance with Navajo laws demonstrates our respect for their culture and our appreciation of their generosity in allowing us to visit their land.
Radios or boomboxes. Do not bring sound equipment that would be audible to other participants. For safety reasons, do not use sound equipment while hiking. An ipod and earbuds are ok in the tent at night.
Climbing equipment. Technical climbing is not part of this trip. I will bring everything we need for the rappel. Decorative carabiners on the back of your pack that you don't need and will never use only add unnecessary weight.
Stoves, pots and food. Food and cooking equipment are part of the group commissary. We will have enough of both.
GPS, Compass, Maps. You won't need these, so save the weight. Route finding is not difficult for most of this trip, and where it is difficult, the GPS won't help anyway.
Cell phone. Again, save the weight. It won't work for much of the trip anyway.
